Set Fire
by nikkiXDshadow
Summary: Stefan is many things, an angel being only one of them.  He is sent down to earth to live with and safeguard two young humans who do not know they are gods.  Stefan's death will bring about the end of the world, but he must die to protect his frineds.
1. Chapter 1

Friends are the backbone of any life. They are your security, your family, and your shelter. When a friend, a good friend, a true friend it is a truly indescribable experience. You feel as though you have lost so much more than a single person.

And when your best friend in the whole world leaves and you are only seven years old? Forget it, you will be emotionally distraught for years.

And that brings us to these young friends. Together since they breathed their first air in the hospital these two have been together since the very beginning. Their families are as close as families can be, adoptive relatives really. Today is the day when their lives change like their lives should never have changes. But the gods decreed and decided he must leave as far as he could across the country. They sent a vision to the small boys parents and created an excuse in the mortal realm so there was a seemingly legitimate reason for the separation. They would break up the twins. Aria and Michael, the gods children, the hope for the world, the best friends, the sacred guardians were being split up.

As Artemis decreed when her twins were fated to change the world they were sent to live among mortals, having no knowledge of their true fates or past. They were drawn together, naturally. In the heavens it was common for twins to marry and reproduce, their children considered superior because of their close relationships genetically. Michael and Aira were the famous twins born to Artemis and through her angels, gentle helpers of the gods, the two were kept safe and most importantly, together. It was four days before the twins seventh birthday when lady fate, the first born and least trustful snuck into Artemis' private chambers to confide in her a vision she had. Artemis was so shocked and scared she called in Stefan, her head angle and most loyal servant.

"Stefan" she whispered from her gently reclining chair "you must ensure my children are sent away from each other's company for a few years."

"A few madam?" Stefan asked, mildly.

"Ten, ten years," Artemis decided with a determined air.

"And of my presence?" Stefan was concerned about how his masters decision would affect his relationship with the children. Artemis had originally sent him to the human realm to watch and guard her children. Having spent seven years with the twins in the guise of a mortal boy a mere two years older than that of the twins he had become very close with them. In fact, they had created a club together and were in the process of making a club house. Although Stefan portrayed a nine year old boy in the mortal realm in the god realm he was over one thousand years old. Which compared to Artemis' 25 thousand was not particularly astounding, but he did have a thousand years of studying and watching and controlling humans. He had much experience with the mortals, but despite that he still felt a very powerful connection with both twins.

"You will remain with Michael," Artemis decided with a sigh, "Jace will have to watch Michael".

Stefan understood her wistfully regretful sigh only too well. Jace was the son of a mortal and the devil. He was the strongest of any creature he'd had the misfortune of meeting. He was also as unyielding and cold as his father. His mothers mortal compassion is why the gods of heaven still contacted him for jobs such as this. He also preferred to pose in the human realm as a teenage boy, a very attractive teenage boy.

"Will she be safe?" Stefan asked, a concerned note colouring his tone.

"He will not go until the seventh year of their separation. It is the only way I can ensure the devil will not harm my children," she sat up from her chair and clasped his hands in hers "trust me, there is no other way. I have been thinking of not but this for days and it is the best solution I can think of. The elder fate has decreed that the gods shall kill my children and I will not let that happen."

"They have been decreed to die?" Stefan yanked himself free and took a step back. Stefan was no fool, Artemis was attempting to play with fates. Only those who were fool enough to get themselves killed dared to interfere with the fates and she was throwing him in the thick of this! His master and adoptive mother would get him killed. Stefan felt himself enraged as Artemis sat back down in her chair, staring at him.

He felt his body morph into his true frame, that of the Arzoul, the changers.

"This is an interesting revelation Stefan," Artemis said calmly from her chair.

The Arzoul held a fragment of the universe in each of their souls. Being the carriers of the universe the seven Arzoul held supreme power in their souls. So, while Stefan the angel was only one thousand years old, his soul can from the very creation of the universe. His soul had lived thousands of lives predating back to the beginning of everything. Stefan had knowledge of every single aspect of the worlds.

"THEY WILL NOT DIE," he decreed with the voice of the universe. His eyes glowed in iridescent flowing pitch, the colour of time. His body was corporeal, his soul unleashed from it's tender mortal frame in this ultimate form. His body lay on the ground, sinewy and muscle and bronzed and perfect in human standards, but compared to the power of the worlds? There was no contest. He was in his ultimate form and he had been waiting through time for this exact moment. His point in time was to die, for these ignorant children. He would fate them to live and die in their place. That was his destiny. It's too bad doing so would destroy the very universe itself.

"Live life, long time, save hope, wrong time," decreed the voice of the universe before Stefan's soul returned to it's mortal shell.

"They will live, great being?" Artemis questioned, respectfully, from her plush chair.

Stefan nearly scoffed, 'great being', he'd never heard that one before. In his mortal body Stefan had only the knowledge of his lifetime and he was unable to summon the universes. They summoned him, but he did have knowledge of his time with them.

"They will live in my place."

"There won't be much left," Artemis began, her tone unmistakable hesitant, "after you leave, will there."

Speaking with a voice very much unlike the universes, yet eerily similar he whispered, "no, Artemis, there won't."


	2. Jace

"JACE!"

Jace flinched as his father booming voiced echoed in the halls of the castle. He was sitting gingerly in a settee, reading a novel. He wasn't sure what the novel was entitled or what manner of events occurred in it, but when her appeared to be studious the people of the castle tended to be more generous in leaving him alone.

Sadly, his father was never so kind.

"WHERE IS MY BASTARD SON?" Hades angry question boomed in the caverns of hell.

Jace could feel his father trying to search him out mentally, but Jace had grown wary of his fathers head games thousands of years ago and had long since learnt the techniques of blocking him out.

_I'm studying_, he shot out with his mind.

Jace could feel his father try to grasp his mind with mental fingers. Felt the smooth talons brush against his memory. Jace knew he was treading on thin ground, no one disobeyed Hades for very long, not even his bastard son.

His mind clouded with pain as his father renewed his attack. "I'm coming," Jace said with a wilful sigh and the throbbing pain receded to a dull ache, a consequence of Hades anger the day before.

He glanced at his fierce expression beneath a face that was a mass of bruises and scabbed wounds, some still leaking blood in places where his fight with a demon that morning had torn off a few pieces of his flesh. Jace knew he could always heal himself to make the pain stop, but when he had done that as a child his father had merely recreated them and increased the pain tenfold. Hades could be a real asshole that way.

So, Jace just dealt with the constantly throbbing pain that was his existence with the toughness of a man many centuries old.

He felt the slight pressure building in his temples again, a sign that his father was getting anxious and angry, and quickly stepped away from the gilded mirror and sauntered his way towards Hades throne room. If there was anything living for as long as he had taught him, it was how to saunter like the best of them.

He spared not a glance at the forever dark, damp stone walls that seemed to be the main material used in constructing Hades palace. Although palace might be a bit of a stretch.

Jace's mother, Persephone, lived in Haven, where the gods had real palaces, made entirely of gold and the climate of a tropical island Jace loved the extremely rare visits he had with his mother. He would play forever as a boy in the small garden, laughing at the little fairies.

Jace began to feel his facial muscles relax slightly from his ever present scowl at the happy memory and quickly tightened the muscles back into the correct position. Any expression resembling anything but misery, remorse, or anger in the underworld and demons and ghouls and all sorts of hellish creatures would set upon you. Although, Jace knew he could take anyone in a fight, he was the son of two very powerful gods after all; he didn't want to give the creatures any sign of weakness. And any pleasant looking expression in this hell-hole was definitely a weakness any creature would exploit.

He was close enough now to hear the loud booms of Hades voice, accompanied by the long, low syllables of his head demons. Jace knew Persephone would not be coming to visit Hades for another week, merely by his increasing foul tempers, and that was reason enough for him to pause hesitantly outside the chamber, weakness be damned.

"What makes you think I give a roasting damned soul about that stupid bitch?" Hades booming voice echoed in the small chamber Jace was paused in, collecting a breath he knew was futile.

"We must appease the Greeks" the demon hissed, referring to the Greek pantheon Persephone belonged to.

"It was the damned Greeks who put me in this living hellhole," Hade complained, the sound of his big body smacking back into the rock chair audible from beneath the door.

"Artemis is quite close to….." the demon trailed off, giving Hades a clear impression that it was Persephone's name that was left unspoken. Hades may live in a hell hole, but he was still a very caring man to Jace's mother. He did not allow any member of his staff or any entity in hell to speak the name of the women many suspected was his one and only love. It was evident that there was no love for the son that had been created by the two, at least not by the father. Jace shook his head, his father was one messed up god.

"I know" Hades released a large breath, the whooshing sound unmistakable, "come in Jace."

As Jace entered the large chamber through the stone doors that had opened silently at Hade's invitation, the demon at his side bowed his head a retired quickly from the room. Jace gave the demon one last pitying look, Hade's demons were lucky if they survived one week, and turned to face the dark god.

"Persephone wants me to do a favour for Artemis, the little whiny bitch she's always complaining about." Hade's began, standing up before his son.

Jace remained silent, typically the best way to remain when in Hade's presence.

"Apparently the little red headed skank had some whiny brats a decade ago or so and know the fates have decreed them to die. Anyway, Artemis won't stop complaining to Persephone and it's giving her a headache. So, I tried to be a gentleman like her frigid bitch of a mother says I'll never be and offered to help and now apparently I have to."

Jace would have snorted at Hade's distraught expression at being caught in an act of selflessness if it would get him sentenced to killing souls for the next five years. Dying souls will grip onto a part of whoever kills them and to be destroyed as well, and that was one of the lighter punishments. Instead Jace kept his expression sullen and focused.

Hades glared down at his son with annoyance "since I have a very important job here taking care of all of the fuckers who end up in hell I have decided you will be the best one to carry out the job."

Jace did a mental pause at the jump in logic. His brain was trying to figure out how favour transferred to job, when his mouth, to his horror, started speaking "job?"

Hades eyes burned liquid fire at his son's interruption. "Boy, you have to babysit a seven year old girl for ten years. That is it. Do not talk back to your sire with such negligent contempt in your voice; you have no idea of the sacrifices I have made for you damn it!"

He did not utter a single syllable, revelling at this new information Hades had released.

"You will keep her from dying until the little girl can be safely rejoined with her twin in ten years. Apparently at that time the predicted doom will be nullified and Artemis believes her twins will be safe. Do you understand boy?" His father levelled a hard stare at his son's scarred face.

Jace thought very deeply, but there was one thing still nagging at his mind "why me?"

Hades scoffed "I may have fucked up with you boy, quite literally as it were, but you have won an impressive amount of battles. Although the ignorant Greeks know nothing of your status as a Demon Lord in this realm they do know that you have been an integral part of winning many battles in the mortal realm."

Jace almost looked thoughtful at the unexpected praise. It was true that 'Demon Lord' was the highest standing one could achieve in the underworld, apart from being 'Underworld Lord', but he had never considered his accomplishments in the mortal realm very significant. When one has lived more than a hundred thousand years battling in the mortal realm was like free exercise and it is hard to look back on one's exercise as being particularly significant, although apparently the Greek god of hunting, was impressed.

Jace nodded his head in acceptance of the praise and spoke carefully "I will guard the girl and make sure she lives to her 19th year, but I would appreciate not reliving my pre pubescent years, once was definitely enough."

Hades laughed sardonically and in that instance Jace knew the smarter option would probably have been not to mention his fears of reliving adolescence. Hade's was a sick bastard and bored enough to make Jace and little boy just to spite him.

Jace felt his bones shrinking and his body reacting, "this is why I never call you father!" he shouted out, his voice cracking halfway through as he was teleported to his mothers estate in the countryside.


End file.
